Front aftermarket track bar popping

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Adventurebound

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Friends. Have any of you experienced issue with aftermarket track bars? I have tried everything, new bushings, new bolts, purchased a new (expensive) torque wrench. I can tighten it down, all is fine for 50 miles then.... pop pop pop. Truck and track bar have less than 15k miles.

Im at the point of scrapping this one and starting over. Any recommendations?

Hint - If the brand starts with a (T) don't respond as a recommendations.
 

crazy jerry

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couldnt be that hard to figure out. using factory bolt and lock nut ? what torq you using ? when it pops does the bolt still have the applied torq or has it loosened ? is the bushing and steel sleeve virtually the same width as the bracket so its a snug fit width wise ? does the bushing halfs have a slight press fit into the bar bore ? you sure its the bar ends making the noise and not the bar hitting something like the bracket on either end
 

Oliver Closehauf

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I watched a youtube video recently and the guy was touting a Carli track bar with Heim joints instead of busings because the track bar will also twist which causes issues for bushed ends. The Heim joints allow the ends to rotate without binding. At least according to the dude in the video.
Not sure how much "noise" that puts into the feel if any.
 

22hemi13

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You sure it’s the track bar? Have you been under the truck and watch while somebody turns wheels? I run the “T” bar and once it’s tq’d ifs fine.
 

Quick_Shifter

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Friends. Have any of you experienced issue with aftermarket track bars? I have tried everything, new bushings, new bolts, purchased a new (expensive) torque wrench. I can tighten it down, all is fine for 50 miles then.... pop pop pop. Truck and track bar have less than 15k miles.

Im at the point of scrapping this one and starting over. Any recommendations?

Hint - If the brand starts with a (T) don't respond as a recommendations.
What are you torquing each side to?
 

retired

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here is what your track bar maker's webpage says.​

WHY IS MY TRACK BAR MAKING NOISE?​

If you are getting a popping or clunking sound when steering the truck mostly at slower speeds, I.e., like negotiating a parking lot, your mounting bolts are not tight enough. Please reference the instructions listed on our website, regarding the mandatory torque requirements, and warnings about correctly torquing the mounting bolts.

If your Thuren Trackbar is making a creaking or squeaking sound from the frame side bushing, the bushing is either very new, and/or is just not broken in yet. This bushing does not always make noise when new on every truck, but it can make noise when new, and we consider this normal. The noise will go away with miles driven. Using the noted Full-Synthetic grease will allow the grease to flow sooner, reducing the chance for noises. Reference the bottom of the Trackbar instructions page, for more details.
 

phil frost

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i had the same issue. couple of things: 1. the frame end of the track bar needs to torqued to 215 ft lbs, if not it will wear and need to be replace (happened to me). I retorque every couple of oil changes and grease every oil change 2. the frame end uses a delrin bushing... see below

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0510/0529/2724/files/13-22TB_Instructions.pdf?v=1657815021

. Future Maintenance • Re-torque mounting bolts after 500 miles. Grease zerks at every oil change. Put Torque Stripe or Paint Marker across jam nut and threads of heim to visually check that the nut has not backed off.
• The frame joint holds very little grease, so you won't feel the grease gun substantially pump grease through the joint. If the grease gun handle feels firm on pressure, the joint is happy and full of grease so no need to force the pressure, or worry that there is an issue.
• The Acetal/Delrin we machine our bushings from is a very forgiving material. It is very slippery so it does not need much grease at all, and it can use almost any kind of grease. If using a Non-Synthetic grease try to use an NLGI#1 spec, as it is thinner so it can ********* the tight wear surface. If using a Full Synthetic grease, either NLGI#1 or #2 is just fine, as the base grease is thinner, regarding Full-Synthetic


Hope this helps. I haven't had the issue in months since I replaced the bushing and maintained proper torque.
 

thkbaron

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Also due to a few changes on the new gen, mine actually hit and some material had to be ground away from the mounting bracket. Mines been fine ever since.
 
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Adventurebound

Adventurebound

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Follow up:

I am not posting this to bash a particular company, just wanted to share in full transparency my experience.

I installed this track bar when the truck had 800 miles on it. After 2 years I am now at 18,000. It's not a daily driver, and most of those miles are spent on dirt desert roads. Bottom line is I've had issues since day one. I've had constant popping and rattling. I can retorque all bolts but after 50 miles it returns. I have replaced the frame end bushings once, this helped for maybe 500 miles and it returned. I also ground down the frame end mount because of track bar contact, at the direction of the manufacturer.

Here is what I'm finding. The delrin frame side bushing mount is not allowing the track bar to articulate. So much so that instead of the delrin bushing articulating, the metal bushing is twisting within the frame side mount. Evident by the attached picture. The metal track bar bushing has completely worn and destroyed the factory frame track mount. Needless to say, I'm pissed! Manufacturer suggestion this whole time has been, it's too lose torque it tighter. Which I did

I've since ordered a Carli track bar, which uses a uniball on the frame side mount. And also ordered a new frame side mount from Chrysler.

So far, I'm $1,400 into this journey....
 

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Adventurebound

Adventurebound

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2nd follow up:

Installed the Carli track bar and new frame side mount. All is good with life again. Drove 500 miles last weekend with no sound/popping.

BTW that frame side mount that looks like a big ol' cast iron object- well, it's actually cast aluminum.

Not that size matters, but the Carli bars components are beefier than on the one I took off.
 

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mtu1293

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I might be going down this same path. I've had a clunk for a few months now, mainly on hard hitting bumps. I am seeing no play in any bushings, and really sounds like my track bar (from the same company yours was). Dropping mine off today at a local offroad shop, and printing off this forum to show some info. Mine sounds like a loose track bar / metal thunk noise.
 
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